What to expect as leaders convene at the G7 Summit

Ahead of the G7 summit in England, US President Joe Biden is leading a movement to push developing countries away from China’s grip.

Offering substantial infrastructure initiatives, and millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses, experts believe the power play could potentially outweigh Beijing’s.

It comes as Biden and British PM Boris Johnson sat down for their first meeting in Cornwall.

The leaders were promoting a new “partnership” and announced the financing of several major infrastructure projects in emerging markets.

Although there was no direct mention of China, the initiatives proposed do have significant similarities to pledges previously made by Beijing.

These pledges include China’s belt and road initiative and the country’s vaccine distribution program.

As G7 member nations prepare to convene, it is expected that leaders will continue to assert the moral and economic standards of the west.

Vaccine Donation

During the summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expects the Group of Seven to agree on a decision to donate one billion coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations.

It comes as the United States donates 500 million Pfizer shots to COVAX to battle the pandemic and strengthen the rollout around the world.

Some campaign groups condemned the plan as a drop in the ocean, with Oxfam estimating that nearly 4 billion people will depend on COVAX for vaccines, the programme that distributes COVID-19 shots to low and middle income countries.

The pandemic has claimed the lives of around 4 million people and ripped through the global economy. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.